Trapped Again.

I got stuck in an odd situation again, only this time I was not alone, and it was slightly less ridiculous.

First of all, a quick story of the people that I may mention frequently in this blog. Judy is my roomate, Leah is our friend, Daniel is her boyfriend and friend, Mary is our friend. Jess, Gauraw, Jeff, and I are all good friends from high school, though we all go to different schools now. Dustin is my brother. I think that covers it. I think everyone that reads this knows that, but now they can all be certain.

So. Leah likes to volunteer at retirement homes or something. Our school does community outreach, and Leah got involved in one that goes to a retirement home. The girl who was the project leader went to Switzerland, so Leah decided to be the new project leader. So Daniel and I signed up to do the activity with her. Things were running late, since they waited until the last minute to train her to drive the FSU van, but eventually Leah, Daniel and I were all in the Student Success Center, or wherever it was that we meet. We were the only ones signed up for that day.

So they give Leah the keys to the van, but luckily it was a minivan, since there were only three of us. I was expecting, and she had just been trained with, a 15 passenger huge van, the kind that makes me think of youth trips that last days cause we're going to other states for a mission trip, and we spend our time playing poker and betting with candy, and trying to figure out the most convenient way to sleep when there's two other people on your seat and an aisle like thing beside you so you can't really lean on the window. Usually I'd just take the floor and the two other ppl on the seat just had their feet up or something. Anyways, we got a nice, new minivan. We all were quite impressed with it.

So we're all in this minivan, driving along smoothly (although Leah did run over a curb--roads are tight, that curve is difficult in a car, let alone a van--causing minor panic) and heading off to the retirement home, which is maybe 15 minutes away. I'm looking out the window at the car in the left lane, wondering why it's making such a weird noise. Leah asks about the noise, I say to ignore it as the car goes farther ahead, but the noise stays the same. We are making that noise.
"Why is the car smoking?" asks Leah. I turn around, and see smoke trailing behind the car. I wasn't too concerned, since it wasn't under the hood, but I did wonder what was on fire in the back. Leah is slightly panicked, Daniel is concerned, and since I'm not driving, I'm pretty curious. Now we were in the left lane, and there was a grass median, so where there was a break in the median for turn lanes, Leah stops and puts on the emergency lights. We all exit the car. Leah and Daniel, knowing that smoke could be fire and cars are conbumstible, distance themselves from the van. I, less cautious, run straight to the back of the car and crouch down to see what is on fire. Everything appears fine under the car.

Daniel and Leah call me away from the car, since Daniel knew of a van that was on fire once. I, however, notice that the back passenger tire is flat. And in shreds. Basically destroyed. So we call the success center, who calls a tow truck and sends someone to get us. A cop pulls up, asks if there's anything he can do, and leaves.

So here we are, stuck in the median of a road. There is some talk of another car hitting the van and killing us if we sit inside, so we stay outside. And we don't want to try to cross the road and leave the van, so we just stand in the median. I make my friends nervous by moving alot and standing really close to the cars that are driving by at 50 mph, since I have the standing habits of a six-year-old and can't stay in the median safely like a normal human being. As this is going on, the retirement home calls and cancels the appointment, deciding they'd rather us show up next week for the first time.

Minutes pass, patience begins to wear out, and we get tired of squinting past the sun to look for a van. Eventually, however, we see the FSU van. This one is the 15 passenger kind that I'm used to living in for short trips. Close behind is a tow truck. The van parks on a side road, and we run across at an opening of traffic and hope that nobody is speeding over the hill, which makes it a little terrifying. The tow truck, instead of having like a chain and dragging the van around on two wheels, has a huge platform that is lowered to the ground at a terrifying slant, which the van doesn't roll off of when driven up, and then is raised upright again. He drives away, and we get into the van with the driver.

I do not know her name, but I will never forget this woman. She was a middle aged, incredibly friendly black woman. She told us to always have spare clothes in our cars becuase we never know what accidents we might encounter. She talked about her kids, about getting stranded on trips, about her daughter going to college here, about the frigid cold, about shopping, and much more. There is no way for me to write in a way that gives her the credit she deserves. She was friendly, hilaroius, and unforgettable. That ride back was interesting and fun, and her friendliness cheered us up after the frustration of the failed van ride.

Back at college, we go to the meal plan place for dinner, and I get french toast sticks. They are definitely not served enough anywhere.